Flower Arranging Friday

"He Who Plants A Garden Plants Happiness" - a Chinese Proverb




Well...this mroning I decided that instead of going to the gym I would cut flowers from my garden. About a year ago I started reading books on planting a cutting garden...lots of books. I started with my srping bulbs, which were absolutely amazing. Then I began planning a summer garden.

I knew the stars of my summer garden had to be these.....

and trust me....they did not disappoint!!!! Sunflowers are just such gorgeous creatures. I planted just about every variety of sunflower you could think of. I think the ones above have the best vase performance. They can last fresh in the vase for a week!

The next flower I just had to give a try were these....

the gorgeous and fragrant sweet peas! Now....these are not easy to grow. I started some from seed inside in the fall and they didn't work out. So....I met a great lady at our Farmer's Market who I bought some gorgeous starter plants from. I planted those and them sowed the rest of the seem I had left over next to them in the ground. They didn't disappoint in the long run either.

They smell heavenly......ahhhhh.....

Now the next flower surprised me.....

The zinnia! Easy to grow, good vase life and they come in an unsual array of colors...including a light green that makes arrangements quite different and interesting...

Then there are the Dahlias that Vesna suggested......(white and yellow flowers on the left) and the fun lacy Cosmos (purple ones with the dahlias in the gold bowl on the left).

and all this started with another dream, some reference books, and a lot of work. But every bit of it is worth it for me. No more buying flowers at the grocery store for me...now I grow my own. I'm sure next summer will be even better. We learn along the way as we garden...just like we learn along the way in life. I have always had a passion for flowers and now I have a passion for GROWING them! How divine!

Now I will move all my arrangements from the fireplace mantle where I took these photos and place them around the house. Allison loves the sweet peas, Mike likes the sunflowers, and Jackson likes the vibrance of the zinnias and the dahlias. Me????? I just love them all.

I want to thank all the gardeners in my life who inspired me to grow my own flowers and bring them inside to enjoy. There is Vesna...there is my ex mother-in-law, and of course my mother who always has a beautiful garden that is happy and immaculately kept.

We can learn a lot from flowers....a lot of my sunflowers are now starting to fade and droop. I'll have to get out there with a machete to clear them away soon. But, those droooping sunflowers have become a "bird paradise". All of a sudden I have hundreds of birds swooping in and out and chirping with joy. They are loving all the seeds. As they droop, I am excited to say that my hollyhocks are just started to bloom. I am sure they will pop up in a future post (stay tuned).

AND...of course I've got all my spring bulb catalogs to pour over and plan my next spring garden...even better than last year's I hope.

Flowers make me happy. Can you tell? : )

If you don't have them in your garden, treat yourself to a bouquet..you deserve it!